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Floor Speech

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Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act. This legislation would expand the boundary of the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge by approximately 5,658 acres to conserve additional land in Solano, Marin, and Sonoma Counties of California.

The San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge consists of more than 19,000 acres located along the northern edge of San Pablo Bay in Northern California. It was established in 1974 to support wetland habitat; endangered species, like the salt marsh harvest mouse and the Ridgeway's Rail; and migratory birds, including the largest wintering population of Canvasbacks on the west coast.

In addition to providing habitat and wildlife conservation, the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge offers numerous recreation opportunities, including wildlife viewing, wildlife photography, hiking, boating, fishing, and hunting. Regulation of these recreation activities allows for public enjoyment of the refuge while still protecting the wildlife and their habitats.

The bill would expand the San Pablo Bay National Refuge by 5,658 acres, which is more than 28 percent of its current size. The bill would also authorize the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to acquire lands within the modified boundary from willing sellers or donors and allow other Federal Agencies to transfer federally owned land within the modified boundary to the Service without administrative hurdles. Finally, the bill would encourage the Service to allocate Land and Water Conservation Fund dollars to acquire any private inholdings within modified National Wildlife Refuge boundary.

The Fish and Wildlife Service recently reported that 221 million acres of wetlands were destroyed between 2009 and 2019, representing a 50-percent increase in the rate of loss from the previous decade. The loss of wetlands across the country has reduced the amount of critical habitat for wildlife, endangered species, and migratory birds. Given these trends and its prime location within the Pacific Flyway, expanding the boundaries of the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge offers a unique opportunity to protect both critical wetland habitat and priority public uses on Federal lands.

Importantly, expanding the refuge would also contribute to the State of California's and the Biden-Harris Administration's goals to conserve 30 percent of our public lands and waters by 2030.

I would like to thank my colleagues Representatives John Garamendi, Mike Thompson, and Jared Huffman for championing this bill in the House.

I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act as quickly as possible. ______

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